Defendants in Nova Centre lawsuit deny responsibility

Construction continues at the Nova Centre in downtown Halifax. In February, Wooden Money co-owner Christine Bower sued for $500,000 in lost revenue during the centre’s construction. The N.S. government and the centre deny any connection between the construction and declines in revenue for nearby businesses.

The provincial government, the city and the Halifax Convention Centre Corporation are denying any connection between declines in revenue for nearby businesses and the construction of the Nova Centre.

In documents filed to the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board on April 18, the city — representing the Halifax Convention Centre Corp. — says they were not a “statutory authority” for expropriation.

“The respondent did not construct the ‘works’ at issue in this matter, namely the Nova Centre. The respondent states that the Nova Centre is not a public work for which compensation may be claimed,” said the city in the document.

The lawyer for the claimants in the class-action suit, Ray Wagner, previously said they were seeking compensation under the province’s Expropriation Act. The city has argued there was no expropriation.

“The arguments were on par with what we anticipated. There were no surprises,” said Wagner.

“We generally knew we were in this for the long haul. The way they treated issues that were brought up by businesses before is indicative of how they’re treating this suit.”

The city also argues the claim wasn’t made within the one-year time frame after damages were allegedly “sustained or became known,” and therefore cannot claim under the Expropriation Act.

“This respondent states that the claimant’s losses are not reasonably foreseeable, and are remote and speculative,” said the document.

The province also claimed there is no “certificate of approval for expropriation by the respondent Attorney General,” in a document prepared by Department of Justice lawyer Mark Rieksts.

“The Nova Centre facilities are not ‘works’ of the province, and denies that the province is liable to the claimant for injurious affection under the Expropriation Act.”

In February, Wooden Money co-owner Christine Bower sued for $500,000 in revenue lost during the centre’s construction.

“We’ve given the stakeholder ample time to respond. Our requests to have the the problem addressed have been ignored. And this is what we’ve come to,” said Bower in a news release.

Construction began in January 2013 on the huge mixed development project, and in the summer of 2016, seven businesses retained Wagners Law to sue.

Among them were The Carleton Music Bar & Grill, Attica Furnishings, Drala Books & Gifts, The Biscuit General Store, Indochine and the Economy Shoe Shop.

The city, province and federal governments are named in the lawsuit, as are Argyle Developments Inc., its parent company Rank Inc. and the Halifax Convention Centre Corp.

“We expected this behaviour from them, and aren’t surprised by their response. We will see what the NSUARB thinks about all this,” said Wagner. “A number of these businesses have closed or been sold, and those that have survived have continually dealt with a number of issues. It’s had a horrible impact.”